Metallica fans don't want anything surprising - Metallica

There are, you suspect, a great many bands who know, in their hearts, that their fans don't really love them for their skills and novelty; all they want is a new album that sounds exactly like the last one. However soul-crushing it might be, the sane financial decision is to eschew invention in favour of repetition.

You don't often hear bands admit it, though, so a small bouquet of honesty to Kirk Hammett of Metallica, who effectively nails his fans as painfully conservative:

I've learned that there's a signature METALLICA sound, and if we stray too far from that, our fans get impatient, or they just don't understand, or they miss the point. And I'm not saying that's a good thing or a bad thing; it's just something we have to contend with.

Same as last time, then, guys? Yep, same as last time.